Comelec: Donated ads must have consent of candidates

MANILA, Philippines — No campaign advertisement can be posted, printed or aired without the consent of the candidates, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

Comelec Commissioner Luie Tito Guia noted that Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Elections Act requires acceptance from candidates prior to the coming out of donated advertisements.

“Print, broadcast or outdoor advertisements donated to a candidate or political party shall not be printed, published, broadcast or exhibited without written acceptance by the candidate or political party,” Guia posted on his Twitter account.

Guia added that those who will violate the regulation can be held liable for election offense.

Acceptance is necessary, Guia said, to prevent the candidates from claiming that they have nothing to do with ads obviously promoting their candidacy.

According to Guia, some candidates claim that they have no knowledge about advertisements so that the cost would not be included in their campaign expenditures.

The Comelec has notified all senatorial candidates in the May midterm elections to remove all illegally posted campaign materials.

The poll body said senatorial candidates who failed to comply with the regulations would be penalized.